pat_j._krentz_29_palms__ca

I will second the recommendation for the Zone VI workshop, never did

understand zone systems until Fred explained it in relativly simple

terms, while it is not something any dummy can do, it is not as

complicated as some people try to make it. Regards, Pat

The only way you are going to have a satisfactory answer to that is to

buy a pack and try it out yourself. Regards, Pat

Shawn, try Kodak's ABC pyro, and SD-1 pyro, if you can't find them,

let me know and I will send you the formulas. Pat

Peter, I went to b/w world and went through the first five sites and

no article "taming pyro". They had the sites numbered so if you would

be kind enough to give me the number of the site. Thanks, Pat

If I may be so bold as to point out again, 1 oz. of white vinegar to

15 oz. water is a very mild stop, and I have used it at temps of 85+

degrees here in the desert. Regards, Pat

I have used Kodak's SD-1 (pyro) for 35mm and like it very well and

there is a noticible differnce in the neg's between standard

(non-pyro) and pyro neg's, anyone who tells you otherwise has never

used pyro or did not know what they were doing with it. I gave up

condenser light about 6 years ago for a Zone VI cold light head for

my Omega D2V along with a compensating timer and have never regretted

it. Welcome back to B/W. Regards, Pat

You don't have to give up stop bath just dilute it, your not stopping

a tank, just development. 1 oz. of household vinegar to 15 oz water

works great. I find that 1 minute for exposure is excessivly long,

most of my exposures run from 14-26 seconds on a grade 2 paper. I use

HC-110 E (1-11) x 11:00 @ 68-F for Tri-X PEI 200. Great negs. Regards,

Pat

Once I used flat black exterior paint on both sides of the glass and

then hung the large thick plastic bags on the inside, worked very

well. The other that worked very well was to get a black material

the size of the window or larger and then put black felt on top of

that, it helps if you have a wife who sews, these both worked very

well for me. Pat

Unless there is someone who wants to do a lot of typing, you would be

better off to get The Book of Pyro by Gordon Hutchings, there are many

pyro formula's and they are not all the same. Try Ed Buffaloe? website

www.unblinkingeye.com Regards, Pat

I shoot techpan 35mm at iso of 100, develope in Kodak SD-1 (1:1) pyro

for 12 minutes, no rinse, fix in sodium thiosulfate (pure hypo) for 5

minutes (no stop or water rinse) wash for 20 minutes and dry.

Beautiful neg's. Regards, Pat

To find out if your fixer is still active take a piece of un-exposed

film and put it in your fixer and see how long it takes to fix,

then double the time, if it is over 6 or 7 minutes you might want to

make fresh fixer. I have had fixer that was 8/9 months old still

working in 5 minutes. Regards, Pat

Any developer is toxic if taken internally, they are for developing

film, not drinking, as for absorption through the skin it is very

slight and unless you have a sensitivity to pyro there is not a lot to

worry about. Be careful and use your head and gloves. Pat

You are getting the cart before the horse, you need to do the PEI

(personal exposure index) test first to find your proper ISO/ASA for

your equipment, then you need to do the Zone VIII print test on the

paper you wish to use for the area which is brightest but still

contains texture, and when you have established these then you will

have establised maxium printable density. If you change any componet

of the test you should retest, if you go from a grade 2 to a grade 3,

you should do the print test again to establish Zone VIII print

values. If you wish to understand what you are doing and how it work,

get The Zone VI Workshop by Fred Picker, there are other's out there

but his is the easiest that I have found to understand. Regards, Pat

If I may quote, "Pyro produces stronger and more consistent edge

effects than any other known developer. Edge effects give a print a

delicate "etched" look that has a tactile three-dimensional feel".

Book of Pyro pp.10, if you get this book and read it you will

understand a lot more about pyro than most of the photographer's out

there. There are a few of us who work with it and love it, the others

just like to talk about what they think it does. Regards, Pat

With my equipment Tri-X has a PEI of 200, HP5+ has a PEI of 100, my

personal preference is Tri-X, I use pyro developer and both films

respond very well to it, I have used a cold light head for 10 years

and would not use any other, since I don't think there is anything

better, yet. Pat

I never squeegee film, the process is the same for 120 as 35, I use

photo sponges without the photoflo and have not problem with

water spots. I think you will like the larger neg. Regards, Pat

Why don't you pick your favorite of the 3 developers you say you work

with and do your personal exposure test and then the zone VIII

printing test and then you can work with a system that is calibrated

to your equipment? It will save you a lot of time and hassle. Regards,

Pat

I would think that you are going to have fog no matter what you do, I

would suggest a pyro developer if you can get it there, Kodak SD-1 or

PMK, and the compensating WD2D. Regards, Pat

Tom, you are right about filter factors, where I went astray was I

don't use them, so that when I photograph a red rose I do not allow

for a filter factor and my roses come out very dark which in the gray

scale approximates what I would call dark red, in the negative it is

very light exposure which prints very dark. Sorry about the confusion

on my part. Pat

If you photograph a red barn and allow for the filter factor, you wind

up with a white barn basically, if you do not allow a filter factor

you will have the tonal value of a red barn, try it. Pat

I use Tech-pan in 35mm, I rate it at ASA 100, develope it for 12:00 in

Kodak SD-1, 1:1 @ 68 degrees, you may find some varition, I would

suggest that you conduct your own test for PEI and Zone VIII printing,

and then run a filter test with all the b/w filter to see what you

get, and when you have done that, then do the same thing without

filter factors, there is a big difference in the results. Regards, Pat

If you are worried about the 135 (I don't see why), try your 203 lens,

old time photographer's always used the taking lens for projecting the

same image. Pat